Dubey took the decision to defect after he was denied a Congress ticket to contest parliamentary elections from his stronghold, Dhanbad.

With his sudden exit, the senior leader, who was in the Congress fold for almost four decades, virtually left behind a short and terse departure note to his former party — see you in Dhanbad.

Although Trinamul Congress is yet to take an official call about his candidature, it is imminent that he will contest the poll from the same seat.

Dubey formally joined Mamata Banerjee’s party at its headquarters at Topsia Road in Calcutta in presence of party general secretary and former railway minister Mukul Roy this afternoon.

“Yeh joining unka liye aur TMC dono ke liye shubh hai. Party unke pratibha ka sahi istemal karegi. (His joining our party is lucky for both him and TMC. Our party will make proper use of his political clout),” Roy told The Telegraph.

Dubey, who is known for his outspoken ways and was dismissed from the Hemant Soren Cabinet in February for bluntly criticising the chief minister, said: “I feel bad to leave the Congress. But I had no other option than to quit. They punished me twice for a crime, which I did not commit. They removed me from the ministry without giving me a chance to resign and now denied me a ticket.”

He went on, “Congress party ka Jharkhand me koi name lene wala nahi rahega. Is budhe ke saath bahut bura kiya hai (Nobody will take the name of Congress in Jharkhand. They have treated this old man badly).”

The Congress, however, delivered a witty riposte to Dubey’s allegation.

“He is a senior and seasoned man. Such immature act of leaving the party in anger doesn’t suit his stature,” state Congress president Sukhdeo Bhagat said.